Police continue search for father of 2-year-old Lakehurst girl found dead in car seat

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerNew Jersey State Police, Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office investigators and other police agencies on scene on Schoolhouse Road during a heavy downpour where the body of 2-year-old Tierra Morgan was found in a stream at Shark River Park Tuesday.

LAKEHURST — While authorities continued to investigate the death of 2-year-old Tierra Morgan and search for her father, her family gathered at her home and grieved this morning.

“We are just trying to get through this,” said Michelle Simmons, Tierra’s grandmother. “It’s very difficult.”

The toddler was found strapped in a car seat in a stream at Shark River Park on Tuesday, one day after her father, Arthur Morgan III, failed to return the child to her mother after a court-approved visit, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

An autopsy was scheduled to be performed on the girl’s body today, while police issued warrants for Morgan’s arrest on charges of child endangerment and interference with custody.

A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said this morning that Morgan, of Ocean Township, remains at large. He confirmed Morgan, 27, was last seen near the area of the Asbury Park train station between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Monday night.

No new charges have been brought yet against Morgan, pending autopsy results, the spokesman added.

On Monday night, Morgan took his daughter out for a court-approved visit, according to authorities. About an hour after he didn’t return the girl at a designated time, her mother, Imani Benton, called police to report her missing.

View full sizeOcean County Prosecutor's OfficeTierra Morgan, right, a 2-year-old girl from Lakehurst in Ocean County, was last seen with her father, Arthur Morgan III, left, authorities said. The toddler was found dead this afternoon in a Monmouth County park.

Tierra’s body was found about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday by three teenagers who noticed the car seat partially submerged in a stream.

A mother of one of the boys who made the grim discovery said her son, “wasn’t sure if it was a boy or a girl or if it was a doll or some kind of sick joke.”

At the girl’s home this morning, several family members referred any questions about the case to police investigators.

Authorities are asking anyone with information relevant to the case to contact Det. Brian Haggerty of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-814-3460 or Det. Michael Clancy of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 800-533-7443.